A report from the Berkshire Eagle in Massachusetts. "Single- and multifamily home sales showed modest gains over the first half of the year, according to the Berkshire Realtors. South county has a glut of homes for sale in the $1…
A report from Globe St. "As the cycle continues to mature, apartment developers are seeing more opportunities for ground-up apartment construction in semi-urban or urban-core-adjacent neighborhoods and mid-rise construction. Some capital sources have been concerned about overbuilding in urban core…
It's Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. "Home prices slipped in some of the costliest U.S. markets in the second quarter. Prices slid 5.3% in the San Jose region. Prices slipped 1.9% in the San Francisco area and 1.2%…
A report from the Sydney Morning Herald in Australia. "A small group of private certifiers have signed off on 130 buildings with compliance problems, including allowing residents to move into one property that did not have toilets or taps fitted.…
A report from the Wall Street Journal. "Inflated bond ratings were one cause of the financial crisis. A decade later, there is evidence they persist. In the hottest parts of the booming bond market, S&P and its competitors are giving…
A press release from Redfin. "Eleven percent of offers nationwide faced a bidding war in July, down from more than 45 percent a year earlier, according to Redfin. The national bidding war rate hasn't surpassed 15 percent since November 2018,…
An editorial from the Merced County Times in California. "Lest anyone forgot, Merced was the poster-child for the American sub-prime mortgage nightmare (2007-2010). In the end, Merced housing and commercial real estate collapsed with some of the highest foreclosure rates…
A report from the Wall Street Journal. "After a sluggish end to 2018, real-estate investment trusts are showing promise again. 'When we look at these companies, we’re seeing what we would hope to see, which are well-capitalized businesses that aren’t…
Two reports from the Globe and Mail in Canada. "A drop in the number of low-rise houses under construction in the Toronto region has led to job cuts for workers who specialize in home-building trades. The number of detached and…
A report from Honolulu Civil Beat in Hawaii. "What will be the effect of Honolulu’s vacation rental Bill 89? There are four possible scenarios for an owner: They can take the unit off the market, rent it long term, sell…